Container handle



jan. 31, 1967 R. E. LlslEcKl v 3,30%586 w CONTAINER HANDLE Filed Apru 22, 1985 United States Patent ffice 3,301,586 i vCON'I'AINER HANDLE Robert E. Lisiecki, O rcbard Lake, Mich., assgnor to Ex-Cell-O Corporation i Filed Apr. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 449,987 '3,Claims; (Cl. 294-16) This invention relates to av removable carrier device for holding large' containers and more particularly to a removable carrier device for single-service containershavinga gable top. j 'f In the packaging lof fluid's such as milk and other dairy products, extensive u'se is made lof containers having a gable top. Recently Vmillt and other beverages ha'ye 'been marketed in one gallon volume containers of this type. The increased weight of these larger'containers has resulted inthe need for a carrying means to'enaile such containers to, be more 'conveniently transported by t-he consumer. I It is an object of'the present invention to provide a carrier which includes a hand grip portion whereby| a container may be carried in an eflicientand easy manner. `Another object `is to provide a carrier which is eas ily removable1;when the container' is to be opened for dispensing of its contents. V `A further object of the invention is the provision of la carrier which may be inexpensively produced `sol that it is disposable as a=single-service-item.

Still another object is to provide a carrier' that does not interfere with Vertical stacking of a plurality of simip d rier which doesnotl mar or damage the container structure.

` A further object of the invention is the provision of a 'carrier that can be thermoformed from sheet plastic.

A final object of the present invention is the provisioh of a carrier for a container which'may 'beapplied to containers by automatic feeding andattachment machines.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as the following description proceeds taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. l is a fragmentary perspective view showing a carrier of the invention engaging a gable top container;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view partly in section of the container and carrier illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the container and carrier illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a modified container carrier;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a further modified carrier; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the carrier of FIG. 5.

While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrative embodiments have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in considerable detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modification, alternative constructions and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed 'in the appended claims.

Gable topped containers are shown in U.S. Patent No. 3,1l6,002 issued December 31, 1963, to D. J. Crawford. While a brief description of these containers will suflice for present purposes, 'reference should be made to the Crawford patent for a more detailed description of the character and structure of the containers. Such contamers comprise (as shown in FIG. 1) a rectangular I i substantially in the shape of a hollow tr-iangular pyra-` tubular body portionltl surmounted by a gable topped closure portion 12.I Forming the gable t'opped`` closure' is a pair of opposed upwardly inclined roof panels 14 overlying the body 10, a pair of inwardly inclined triangular end panels 16, and inwardly folded triangular of sealing panels 22, which are abuttingly secured to-- gether along the entire length of the top rib.

This structure forms substantiallyV identical indentations or recesses indicated at the points desi-gnated at 24, in opposite sides ofjthe top'portion 121beneath the opposite ends of 'the 20. Each of the recesses is mid formed by the single triangular panel 16 and the pair of triangular panels 18,..

The invention comprises a vcarrier 26 which is adapted to' carry the container,fragmenta-rily shown in FIG. 1. The carrier is preferably made from a single elongated flat strip of plastic material such as polyethylene' or polystyrene or any other suitable plastic material. The generally horizontal handle strap 28 is rigidly and permanently bowed or looped at its extremities 29 to enablea person to readily use the strap for grasping the same'by 4projectin'g above the top panels 22 and to impart a certain amount of spring tension for a purpose hereinafter described. i

' The' handle strap 28 hasv sloping intermediate por-` tions 30 terminating iny inwardly directed'tongues 32 which are positioned in recesses 24 and engage the fold back panels 18 of the container adjacent to the rib 20. The intermediate portions and tongues 30, 32 are provided with central longitudinal apertures or slits 34 having a length along members 30 substantially equal to the intercepted diagonal distance of the rib 20, 22. The widthiof the apertures `34 is slightly greater than the width of rib 20 to allow the carrier to be received in the aperture, as best shown in FIG. 3'. In this way thel carrier will assist in preventng the rib panels 20 from separating during transportation of the container.

The inherent spring in the plastic material, due to the bending of the carrier into its handle and tongue configuration, keeps the tongues 32 in close frictional engagement with their corresponding trianzgular wall sections 18. It is to be pointed out that this tight frictional connection between the hook portion 36 of the carrier and the upper edges of the recesses 24 prevent the carrier from disengaging from the container when being transported.

The situation encountered when several containers are placed in open cases and vertically stacked results in engagement and downward movement of handle 28 toward panels 22. In order to prevent the inherent spring in the carriers 26 from causing excessive outward travel of tongues 32 and possible disengagement from the containers, applicant's tongues are of sufficient length so that a portion of the tongues will remain in engagement with their associated recess. It will be noted that the provision for relative movement lbetween the carrier and the container also prevents any damage to the containers.

When the user desires to put the carrier on a container, it is only necessary that he extend the tongue portions 32 outward and align the rib 20, 22 with the aperture 34. The release of the tongue 32 will cause the spring tension to move them into assemb'led position with the container. The container assembly as illustrated in FIG. 1 may be readily dsassembled by merely exerting an outward pull on either one of the tongues 32, whereby the tongue becomes disengaged and the carrier will be free of the container. When the carriers Patented' Jan. 31', 19671 are applied to cartons by automatic machines various methods of assembly may be followed 'without departing from the invention.

A feature of applicantls invention is the formation of an acute angle of approximately 50 between the downwardly sloping portions 30 and the substantially horizontal tongues 32. By this arrangement the portions 36 are given their hook configuration to insure a positive gripping action between the carrier and the container and thereby preventiing slippage between the members. Thus the greater the downward force on the tongues the tighter will be the frictional engagement of the portions 36 with the container. It will be noted in this regard that the carrier 26 will be formed from material having sufficient thickness, for example in the case of plastic approximately one-sixteenth inch, to withstand any forces encountered in normal usage.

In FIG. 4, a modfied carrier 38 construction is illustrated. The same basic carrier is modfied by removing a portion of the material to provide a narrower handle 40. The reason for tapering handle 40 is that, depending upon the type of material used and the size of the container, the spring tension of the carrier may be lessened to reduce the outward spread of the tongues 32 When subjected to downward acting forces. Similarly the thickness of the material at area 40 maybe reduced to achieve a like reduction in risiliency of the carrier.

As a further modification of applicanfs invention, FIGS. and 6 disclose the modfied carrier 42 with the addit'ion of tabs -44 which are adapted to eng'age the panels 14 of the container. The frictional connection made by the cooperation of tongue 46 with the tabs 44 provides an alternate structure for preventing disengagement of the carrier when handle 28 is subjected to downward forces. The tabs and tongue could be made to converge at their extremities, if desired, to increase their clamping action against the container panels.

While the embodiment-s of the present invention as herein disclosed constitute preferred forms, it is to be understood that the forms might be adopted.

I claim as my invention:

1. A removable resilient carrier attachment for a gable top liquid-proof paperboard container of the type having a pair of'incline-d top panels and a pair of ridge-forming panels extending upward from the top panels with recesses underlying opposite ends of the ridge, said carrier comprising;

(a) a flexible member constituted of an integral piece of strip-like resinous plastic Sheet material and including a horizontal central handle port'ion extending app'roximately one-half the length of the container rib to be positioned in spaced relation to the ridgeforming panels,

(b) a pair of outwardly sloping portions integrally connectcd to the ends of said handle such that they form an acute angle with the horizontal within the range of to and having parallel sided slits for receiving the end portions of the container ridge therein, i

(c) a pair of tongues for engaging the undersurface of t-he container recesses integrally connected to the extremities of said sloping portions and extending inwardly in a substantially horizonal plane toward each other, the free ends of said tongues being spaced apart to provide an opening, and

(d) said carrier handle being spaced above said ridge a distance such that when it is subjected to a down- Ward flattening action toward the container to force said tongues away from one another said handle will contact said rib prior to eifecting disengagement of said 'carrier from the container recesses.

2. The carrier as set forth in claim 1 wherein horizontal tabs are provided in spaced relation which said tongues for engagement with the top panels of the container.

3. The carrier as set forth in claim 1 wherein said handle portion is reduced in width approximately onehalf to increase the flexibility of said carrier.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,308,267 1/1943 Cooper 294-33 2,361,926 11/1944 Brogden 224-45 2,424,094 7/ 1947 Herr 22.4-45 3,251,622 5/ 1966 Miller 294-33 GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Exmminer.

G. F. ABRAHAM, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A REMOVABLE RESILIENT CARRIER ATTACHMENT FOR A GABLE TOP LIQUID-PROOF PAPERBOARD CONTAINER OF THE TYPE HAVING A PAIR OF INCLINED TOP PANELS AND A PAIR OF RIDGE-FORMING PANELS EXTENDING UPWARD FROM THE TOP PANELS WITH RECESSES UNDERLYING OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE RIDGE, SAID CARRIER COMPRISING; (A) A FLEXIBLE MEMBER CONSTITUTED OF AN INTEGRAL PIECE OF STRIP-LIKE RESINOUS PLASTIC SHEET MATERIAL AND INCLUDING A HORIZONTAL CENTRAL HANDLE PORTION EXTENDING APPROXIMATELY ONE-HALF THE LENGTH OF THE CONTAINER RIB TO BE POSITIONED IN SPACED RELATION TO THE RIDGEFORMING PANELS, (B) A PAIR OF OUTWARDLY SLOPING PORTIONS INTEGRALLY CONNECTED TO THE ENDS OF SAID HANDLE SUCH THAT THEY FORM AN ACUTE ANGLE WITH THE HORIZONTAL WITHIN THE RANGE OF 45* TO 55* AND HAVING PARALLEL SIDED SLITS FOR RECEIVING THE END PORTIONS OF THE CONTAINER RIDGE THEREIN, (C) A PAIR OF TONGUES FOR ENGAGING THE UNDERSURFACE OF THE CONTAINER RECESSES INTEGRALLY CONNECTED TO THE EXTREMITIES OF SAID SLOPING PORTIONS AND EXTENDING INWARDLY IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL PLANE TOWARD EACH OTHER, THE FREE ENDS OF SAID TONGUES BEING SPACED APART TO PROVIDE AN OPENING, AND (D) SAID CARRIER HANDLE BEING SPACED ABOVE SAID RIDGE A DISTANCE SUCH THAT WHEN IT IS SUBJECTED TO A DOWNWARD FLATTENING ACTION TOWARD THE CONTAINER TO FORCE SAID TONGUES AWAY FROM ONE ANOTHER SAID HANDLE WILL CONTACT SAID RIB PRIOR TO EFFECTING DISENGAGEMENT OF SAID CARRIER FROM THE CONTAINER RECESSES. 